1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data collector, in particular to a data collector that is detachable from a target electrical apparatus such as an electrical moisture-proof cabinet.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some environments, the humidity in the atmosphere can easily lead digital products, such as digital cameras, video cameras, notebook computers, electronic dictionaries, PDAs, microphones, chargers and other electronic devices, to lose their original precision or accelerate their aging process. For optical lenses, they may become unusable if mildew grows on their surfaces. In addition, data storage media, such as magnetic tapes, optical disks, flash memory, filmstrips, microfilm, cassette tapes, CDs, LDs, DVDs and disk records, may also be affected by humidity and lose stored data. Other items, such as microscopes, theodolites, precision measuring instruments, reagents, chemicals, powder materials, IC packages, LEDs, LCDs and epoxies, can all easily absorb moisture from the air that can cause material deterioration or oxidization to electrical contacts.
Conventional storage cabinets are used to store electrical or electronic items. The storage cabinets have a control box on which a display is mounted to show readings of the temperature and humidity status inside the storage cabinet. In practice, multiple storage cabinets are often used to store different types of items. The temperature and humidity conditions of each storage cabinet must be regularly collected and recorded by an operator who must physically check all of the cabinets. The collected and recorded data is subsequently transmitted to a computer to generate statistical graphs to be monitored by control personnel. The foregoing job, which requires an operator to physically check each cabinet, is inefficient and has a great probability for human error.
Another conventional type of storage cabinet can transmit data to a computer through a cable. However, connecting multiple cables between multiple storage cabinets and a computer requires complex layout procedures. In addition, the location of the storage cabinets must be considered, and adding an additional hub to connect all the cables to the computer may be necessary. An obvious drawback is that a storage cabinet cannot be conveniently moved to a different location after it is connected to the computer.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a data collector that is installed in a storage cabinet to automatically record environments parameters so as to mitigate and obviate the aforementioned problems.